Modes for connecting a plurality of wires include, for example, a mode of connecting a main wire to branch wires in order to allow branching of a signal or the like, and a mode of connecting a wire to another wire to increase wire length.
An example of the former mode is a connector described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-151169. A branch connector includes: a connector body for holding a trunk-use twisted pair cable and a branch-use twisted pair cable; a pair of crimp terminals disposed in the connector body for electrically connecting the trunk-use twisted pair cable to the branch-use twisted pair cable; and a lid body fixed to the connector body. Provided at a first end of the crimp terminals are a crimping edge to which a portion partway along the trunk-use twisted pair cable is connected. Provided at a second end of the crimp terminals are a crimping edge to which an end portion of the branch-use twisted pair cable is connected. With such a configuration, the trunk-use twisted pair cable can be branched into the branch-use twisted pair cable without peeling off a cover material of the trunk-use twisted pair cable or the branch-use twisted pair cable to expose core wires.
An example of the latter mode is a communication cable connector described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H6-251824. The communication cable connector includes a connector body, and a cover disposed in the connector body for holding the communication cable. The connector body includes a crimp terminal electrically connected to a communication cable, and a male contact and a female contact coupled to the crimp terminal. According to this configuration, the male contact of a first cable connector is connected to the female contact of a second cable connector by bringing together and engaging the first cable connector and the second cable connector. Hence, the communication cable held by the first cable connector can be connected to the communication cable held by the second cable connector, and thereby extended.